We are anticipating the birth of our little girl as my due date is approaching quickly. With only one week and four days left, I’m daily working towards checking things off of my to-do-before-baby-comes list. I’m really enjoying this time off from work, getting things ready for the baby and the crazy adventure we are about to embark on. It’s definitely also overwhelming at times as a first time mother, trying to think about all the important things, wondering what things will be like, the struggles we will face, etc., etc. Although I am in no rush at the moment, I am aching to hold our little bundle in my arms.

Before our baby arrives, I would love to share our maternity pictures with you. I know some of you have been waiting to see them. Holly Gilson took these pictures for us, and I’m SO happy with how they turned out! She was our wedding photographer almost 6 years ago, and I’ve been following her work ever since. I knew that if and when the day would come for a maternity photo session, I would hands down ask her to be our photographer again. I couldn’t be more thrilled that she agreed to take our pictures! If you’d like to see more of her work you can follow her onfacebook or check out her website. Thank you Holly for capturing this important moment in our life! I’m in-love with this in-home session!

Laura used to be my lady boss at Siloam Mission, so I was excited when she asked me to take a couple of photographs to remember the baby bump stage of her life. We met up at the Assiniboine Forest for a quick photo session. The fun part is that instead of having a baby bump, she now has a beautiful little boy. Congratulations Laura and Garrett!

Lately I’ve been obsessed with these oatmeal protein pancakes! I recently decided to add rhubarb to them, which made me love them even more! The recipe is originally from Tastes Better From Scratch. Usually Kevin and I eat them with peanut butter, bananas, and a little bit of pure maple syrup. I decided to play around with the recipe a little, and so the Rhubarb Oatmeal Protein Pancakes with Strawberry Orange Syrup were created!

What I love about this recipe, is how quickly it can be made, with not too many dirty dishes. It somehow doesn’t seem like it takes that much longer to make, than buying and using a prepackaged mix. Plus it is MUCH healthier, and packed with protein (cottage cheese and eggs are both high in protein). Of course, the level of healthiness all depends on what you put on the pancakes after the fact. You can easily skip the butter, and if you don’t mind the tartness you could add a little less maple syrup to the fruit syrup. Or, if you don’t have enough time to make the strawberry-orange syrup, the rhubarb pancakes are honestly amazing served with just pure maple syrup as well.

Another reason why I love this recipe is because it makes my house smell like oatmeal cookies every time! Oh, and did I mention that they are also gluten free for those of you that are gluten intolerant? Just make sure that you get whole grain oats that are guaranteed to be gluten free.

Hopefully you will take some time to try out this recipe. Perhaps on the weekend? You can always make more, so that you have access to a quick and healthy breakfast during the week as well! You’ll thank me later. 😉 If you try out this recipe, make sure to let me know what you think. Have a fantastic week!!

Rhubarb Oatmeal Protein Pancakes with Strawberry Orange Syrup

2017-06-05 17:57:56

Yields 16

This is a healthy pancake recipe, high in protein, and so incredibly delicious!

Preheat non-stick griddle to 400 F, or a non-stick pan on medium to medium-high heat.

Add the whole grain oats and the baking powder to a blender. Blend on the highest speed until a fine flour forms. Empty into a large bowl.

Add the rest of the pancake ingredients to the blender (except the rhubarb). Blend until the mixture is creamy. Add to the dry ingredients, and whisk until well combined. Let the mixture sit for a few minutes, until the oat flour has soaked up some of the moisture.

Fold in the rhubarb.

Using a 1/4 cup, scoop batter onto the heated griddle. Spread them out/flatten them a little. Flip once the edges look cooked. When both sides are golden brown, the pancakes are ready to be eaten.

Serve with butter (optional) and strawberry orange syrup.

For the fruit syrup

Add 2 cups of frozen strawberries and 1/3 cup of water to a pot. Bring to a rolling boil on medium-high heat.

When the strawberries have completely thawed, add the orange juice and maple syrup and let it cook for another minute or two. Using an immersion blender or a regular blender, puree the mixture until a smooth syrup forms.

Take off heat, and stir in the vanilla, salt, and orange zest. Serve over rhubarb oatmeal pancakes.

Kevin and I have some outdoor renovations planned for this spring/summer, and this passed weekend we got to check the first project off the list: seeding grass. Kevin spent some time most evenings last week prepping the yard, straightening out some areas, pulling out old cement blocks and putting them in other necessary areas. Two weeks ago he also cut off a beautiful pine tree that was right in the center of our backyard. We loved this tree, but it was growing bigger and bigger every year, making our backyard smaller and smaller. So we finally decided that it had to go. 🙁

On the weekend we had soil delivered, and we worked really hard to straighten out our front and backyard, and finished by seeding grass. Our bodies were SO sore by the end of it, but we felt really accomplished and also really enjoyed working on our yard together. There’s just something about spring, sunshine, dark and rich fresh soil, working hard, seeding, nurturing the seeds, and then waiting with anticipation to see new grass sprouting up everywhere. We were so thankful for the perfect weather that accompanied us the whole time! Here are some pictures of the weekend. I have to remind myself to document our life and our every day kind of moments more often. These pictures will bring back many memories in the years to come.

Luna loved every second of her time spent outdoors!

Here are some semi-before pictures, as I’m hoping that the look of the back and front yard will change drastically over the next few years. To get the real before picture, imagine a pine tree right in the middle of the yard, and where the soil is lying, there was old grass, with a fairly bumpy and uneven surface. Leading towards the gate, there were broken cement blocks, forming a path.

Our plan is to remove the chain-link fence completely, and replace it with a taller, wooden fence for more privacy (and to hide the not so appealing back lane).

I realize that I never showed you an “after” picture of the new deck that Kevin and my dad built last summer (2016). It isn’t fully finished, so I might to another post on it in the future showing the before and after pictures. But here is what it looks like for now, and we’re really enjoying it. Now we’re dreaming and working on turning the whole backyard into a nice hang out space, and eventually also an area for gardening.

I felt a strong urge to take off my shoes and work in the rich soil barefoot! Yes, my feet got incredibly dirty, but with a little soaking, and a little bit of soap and scrubbing, it all came off! They were almost as good as new!

Kevin taking a well deserved break.

Adding the sprinkler and watering the seeds felt like the final rewarding touch. Kevin finished up the backyard in the dark, while Luna got a much needed bath inside.

Thank you for following our little and big adventures. Wishing you all a great week!

Another week has started, and we have been having some gorgeous weather these last few days! This makes me SO happy! Unfortunately, I haven’t been outside to enjoy the weather as much as I would have liked. This is my first year singing in the Faith and Life Choir, and the last two days we spent many hours rehearsing and performing for our spring concert. It was a really great experience, and I plan to continue singing in this choir when it starts up again in the fall. The only downfall was that we spent a lot of time indoors while the lovely weather was calling us to be outside!

I did make sure to enjoy the warm weather at least for a little while today. Luna sure didn’t complain about us taking her for a walk! But now, I’m excited to share this Salted Date Oven Caramel Popcorn recipe with you!

This household really enjoys caramel popcorn! Over a month ago I decided to try to come up with a healthier version for this delicacy. Now, by healthy I don’t mean that it is something incredibly nutritious that you should eat every day. However, I did manage to make it refined sugar free, which is something that I have been trying to consume less of. The first time I tried to make this recipe, there was too much moisture in the caramel, causing the popcorn to shrivel significantly. It was still delicious after baking it, but I knew the recipe required some adjustments.

Today I tried making it again, tweaking the recipe a little, and it turned out much better! It has a rich caramel-like colour and flavour, and baking it causes it to acquire the perfect amount of crispness. It is incredibly delicious, and makes the perfect snack for a movie or game night! However, you might not be able to stop eating once you start. You have been warned!

I hope you give this recipe a try! If you do, I’d love your feedback! May this week be joyful, productive, positive, and rewarding! Thank you for stopping by!

Add the pitted dates to a glass bowl and cover with boiling water. Let it sit for half an hour.

Preheat oven to 250 F°.

While the dates are soaking, add the popcorn kernels and 1 tablespoon of coconut oil to a stovestop popcorn maker. Heat on medium-high until most of the kernels have popped, stirring consistently. When the popping slows down to several seconds between pops, empty the popcorn into a large bowl immediately.

Drain the dates. Using a food processor, purée the dates, pure maple syrup, and the remaining coconut oil, until a smooth and thick mixture forms.

Using a non-stick pan, bring the date mixture to a boil on medium-high heat. Continue boiling on medium heat for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the mixture has a rich and brown caramelized colour.

Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract and salt.

Add the date mixture to the popcorn and fold in gently until evenly combined.

Spread out the popcorn on a non-stick baking sheet and bake for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Let cool completely and enjoy!

Notes

If you don't have a food processor you may also use a blender, or a hand held immersion blender.

Don't heat the coconut oil on high, as it might cause your throat to feel scratchy.

A couple of weeks ago I started blogging about our 2016 summer trip to Southeast Asia. After being super sick twice in a row, and getting past the whole Easter time rush, I’m looking forward to continue sharing more about our trip. So far I have only blogged about the things we saw and did in Bangkok, Thailand. Today I’m going to share about our time in Kanchanaburi, Thailand. Kanchanaburi is about a 2 to 2 1/2 hour drive away from Bangkok.

After eating our 7 eleven breakfast, the tour van picked us up from our hotel, and then stopped on Khao San Road to pick up more people. The van took us all the way to Kanchanaburi. The activities that we did the following days were all booked in advance as part of our tour, including our meals. Here are some of the things Kanchanaburi has to offer:

6 Things to See and Do in Kanchanaburi, Thailand

1. Do Some Shopping at the Floating Market

The floating market is basically what its name suggests: a market located directly on the water. We took a paddle boat down the narrow water streets. This place was bustling with vendors sitting in their paddle boats, selling fresh fruit, grilled chicken, hats, ice cream, art, wood work, and many other things.

The floating market was the perfect opportunity to buy a few local keepsakes, and enjoy some delicious food! We bought two absolutely beautiful coconut stir fry bowls and chopsticks. To this day they still have a delicious smoky smell to them.

We also saw two huge snakes at the market. We didn’t take any pictures of them, but I’m pretty sure you were actually allowed to hold the snakes and take pictures of them for some money.

Another interesting experience I had was a lady coming up to me, putting some ointment on her fingers, and massaging my head out of nowhere. I didn’t allow her to continue for too long. I ended up watching the same case scenario unfold with another guy. He let her massage him, and before he knew it, she was trying to push him into buying the ointment. It is hard to resist a massage after all! Haha.

After spending some time at the market, we took a motor boat to see the water village. I’m always curious about what it feels like for this to be your every day normal. I remember what I felt like when I first moved to Canada. There was this sort of magical feeling about living in a new place. So many places to explore, and just the newness of it all was exciting. As a tourist, you never get past that “new” feeling, so I’m always left to wonder what it is really like for the people living there every day.

We saw this huge lizard just hanging out in the water!

A home in the water village

The above picture gives you a better idea of just how busy and full of boats the water street was!

2. The Burma Railway Bridge Over River Kwai

Following a delicious lunch, our tour van took us to a museum in Kanchanaburi. Kevin and I decided that we weren’t interested in the museum, and wandered around while waiting for the rest of the group. We found some refreshing coconut ice cream, and walked on the scenic Burma Railway Bridge instead.

3. Take a Train Ride on the Death Railway

Getting a ride in this yellow, rustic train, is a memory I won’t be forgetting soon. It’s like going on a wild jungle ride a hundred years ago. The train had that old-rattling-wood feel to it, and it brought us to such scenic places and apparently also the most dangerous curve! We got to know a mother (Alicia) and her son (Gonzalo) from Chile on this ride, who we ended up seeing a fair bit over the next days.

Sadly like in many other cases, forced labor was used in the construction of the Burma Railway. The workers were forcibly drafted by the Imperial Japanese army, and thousands of them died. You can read more about the construction of the Burma or Death Railway here.

4. Go for a Swim at Erawan Falls

Erawan falls is made up of seven falls! It takes a while to hike up all the way to the top falls, especially if you take a lot of time at every stop, like we did! You really should hike up all the way though, as the rock at the very top falls has deposits on it, making it easy to climb on. This is why they are called sticky falls. It’s truly bizarre! It feels like you should be slipping and falling, but you don’t! You simply climbed up in the midst of all the water running down.

Kevin went for a swim by the falls. I was content just dangling my feet in the water, as I don’t do deep water without life jackets. There were life jackets available though, if you’re wondering. Now, if you do dangle your feet in the water, the fish will come and nibble at your feet! I wasn’t the biggest fan of this, as it actually hurt some times! Those must be some angry fish! 😉 However, all you have to do is keep moving your feet, and they won’t bite you.

I was never able to figure out what the meaning was behind these colorful dresses displayed in nature. Do any of you have the answer?

We met this friend at the very top water falls. I took millions of pictures of him, and I’m pretty sure he thought I had lost my marbles! He was such a good sport about it though and just kept on doing his thing. But since I was so caught up taking pictures of this guy, I didn’t even take any pictures of the sticky waterfalls!

The return to our tour van wasn’t quite that much fun! We thought we were running late, or would barely make it back on time, so we gave it our all and started running back. Now keep in mind how hot it was. Needless to say, when we made it back to the van I felt half dead and quite light headed! It took me so long to recover too! Oh and did I mention that we were the first ones to arrive at the van and that we were meeting later than we thought?! Yeah, all that running for nothing!

After enjoying a good lunch at a restaurant close to the waterfalls, the van dropped us off at a location where we rode and bathed with a 15 year old elephant named Allé (more on riding elephants later).

We ended our day by taking refreshing showers, doing some laundry by hand (we had to do laundry quite frequently as we were backpacking and brought a minimal amount of clothes), enjoying supper at our bungalow, and relaxing on some chairs outdoors. We were graced with some rain and lightning.

5. Bamboo Rafting

The next morning started earlier than I had hoped. It took me a while to fall into a deep sleep because there was loud music playing till 2 am. To my surprise I woke up at 6 am to the sound of monk chanting and music. At this point I was SO tired that I couldn’t stop laughing at my fate. As annoyed as I was to wake up so early after only four hours of sleep, it was actually really nice to listen to the monk chanting and the music. I had hoped to have a more authentic experience and hear more Thai music and not the usual hot 103 songs, so this was my chance to see the true beautiful culture shining through.

Part of the tour was to go bamboo rafting down the river. After packing up our bags and enjoying a light breakfast, I enjoyed some hot cocoa while we relaxed on the raft, waiting to go bamboo rafting.

I don’t remember this man’s name. I will, however, always remember his gentle demeanor and how sweet and kind he was. He was the one navigating our bamboo raft. Later on when he saw me petting and interacting with a dog outside, he told me the story of how that same dog had saved his life when he got bitten by a poisonous snake in the jungle.

The rafts were made out of bamboo logs. A motor boat pulled us quite a far ways up the river, and then we floated back. This was a pleasant experience, as we got to relax in the sun and dangle our feet in the water. Kevin decided to float/swim alongside the raft. We also met some other people from Thailand on the bamboo raft that had come out for a short vacation.

The bamboo raft took us back to the place where we had bathed with the young elephant the previous day. This time we rode a huge 45 year old elephant.

6. Take a Scenic Motor Boat Ride

After the elephant ride, a motor boat picked us up and took us on a scenic ride before dropping us off at our Bungalow. While we were waiting to be picked up by the boat we spend some time with a beautiful and colorful parrot. I’m pretty sure the people working there thought I was a little strange when they heard me whistling melodies to the little creature. But I don’t care. The parrot seemed really attentive and didn’t seem to mind it at all, as it became really calm. This parrot also had a thing for all things shiny! It wanted to peck at my watch and my ring!

Things NOT to Do:

Riding Elephants

If you visit Southeast Asia, you will soon realize that you have the opportunity to swim with and ride elephants and cuddle with tigers. I mean who doesn’t want to experience this! I was incredibly torn about this situation. Everyone wants “that picture” where you are riding a huge elephant and cuddling with a usually fierce tiger (not to mention the adorable cubs).

Kevin and I decided we were not going to visit the tiger kingdom (although it may have been closed at that time anyways). After much conflict in my mind, I had also decided it was best I didn’t ride an elephant. Yet, with our tour we ended up doing just that. It somehow seemed that out of all the places, the elephants were treated better here, they were allowed to take breaks after all, they were still in nature and not on hard pavement, yada yada yada. You can always find excuses to justify your selfish actions.

Well I’m here to tell you that I’m not proud that I took part in this, and in a future post I will write about a better alternative to riding elephants. Visiting an elephant sanctuary will still allow you to spend time with the elephants, but by taking care of them instead of taking advantage of them. However, you still have to make sure that the elephant sanctuary is not just another scam, and that they actually treat their elephants responsibly. If I ever go back I would love to visit an elephant sanctuary again, but I wouldn’t ride an elephant again. So for now I’m going to say shame on me!

You might be asking why it’s such a big deal to ride an elephant. They are big and strong creatures after all. The truth is that before they will let any human ride them, they are put through an awful taming/breaking process. This process is incredibly brutal. Baby elephants are taken from their mothers and beaten into submission. And the brutality doesn’t end here. An elephant’s back is not meant to carry heavy weight. If they carry a heavy cage, plus two heavy humans every day, hour after hour, it can cause them serious long term damage. So I’m here to make you aware of the reality of elephant tourism. It is not worth the picture! Therefore, I have decided not to share any of our elephant riding pictures, since that would just encourage more people to do it.

You can read more and see a video about elephant tourism and brutality here, here, and here (warning: video is graphic).

Where to Stay

Floating Bungalows

Our motto on this trip very quickly became “just go with the flow”. I sometimes have a difficult time adjusting my expectations, especially if plans change last minute. So, eventually our motto and a change in attitude helped me cope when things weren’t quite what I had expected. I find that when you travel you have to learn that things will often not be what they appear to be online. Every place shows only their best online, giving you a false impression.

When we arrived at the Floating Bungalows I felt disappointed at the simplicity of them. I had seen so many pictures online of beautiful bungalows, that initially these just didn’t seem to compare (unfortunately I don’t have the name of these particular bungalows). We did end up enjoying our stay though, as it was a unique experience. Since the bungalows are floating on the water, your whole room will dance to the rhythm of the waves if a motor boat comes rushing by. I definitely can’t say that I had experienced something like that before! Plus, I find that the rustic feel of these bungalows really fit in with the outdoor setting of the river and jungle.

I’m sure there are way nicer bungalows than the ones we stayed at (even some bungalows close by looked better), but we also wanted to keep the cost of our tour at a reasonable price. I posted some pictures below of what our bungalow room looked liked on the inside, to give you an idea. We enjoyed our stay and hanging out in the outdoor lounging area. We were gifted with a gorgeous and calming sunset. So yeah, I’d say these bungalows were very simple, but I highly recommend the experience, whether you stay in the more simple ones or the pricier and nicer ones. Just don’t sleep close to the lounging area, as the music will be loud till 2 am! I would recommend requesting a room further away.

The really nice thing was that we always had the same room to come back to. We would do a day tour and then we would come back to the same place with all of our bags and stuff inside.

The area where we ate all of our meals and hung out

What to Eat

Mango and sticky rice was probably my favorite dessert on our trip! We found this at the floating market, but it is sold everywhere! If you’ll like it as much as I did, eating it only one time simply won’t do!

One of the bizarre but delicious fruits that we tried at the water market, was the above fruit, known as Mangosteen.

We bought chicken drumlets on a stick from a lady at the water market. These were honestly to die for! I’m craving them SO badly right now!

The above two pictures give you an idea of the kind of food that is included with the tours (along with lots of rice). A lot of the tour food was delicious, and sometimes a little strange too. It was usually served home-style (everyone from the tour sitting around the table, sharing the dishes). This gives you the opportunity to meet new people. During this lunch, for instance, we met some awesome people from Spain, giving me the opportunity to practice my Spanish!

Coconut ice cream! You will find that you are constantly craving cold and refreshing drinks and food. It is so incredibly hot and humid every stinkin’ day! Kevin and I decided to try some coconut ice cream in Kanchanaburi, while the people from our tour were visiting a museum. I liked the coconut ice cream, and definitely think you should try it. However, after a while, the texture of the soft coconut scraped from the coconut’s walls became a little strange. In the end, it was cold, therefore good.

All of our meals were included while staying at the Floating Bungalows. The food was served buffet style. I particularly enjoyed this warm tapioca dessert pudding/soup. I’m gonna say it was made with coconut milk. So if you see anything that looks similar, make sure to give it a try.

That basically sums up our awesome time in Kanchanaburi! Thank you for following along! Have any of you my lovely readers been to Thailand? What kind of places did you visit?

I had the privilege of doing a photo session with Rachel and Allison a little while ago. They just recently moved away from good ol’ Winnipeg, and they had this cute idea to do some moving-away themed pictures. In addition, they also brought some other thoughtful props, like a picture from when they first met, letters that they had written to each other, and I believe also their wedding vows.

I got to know Rachel at work, and I always really enjoyed her easy going, down to earth, and non-judging nature. So, naturally it was also nice to meet Allison. I appreciated her genuine effort to get to know the person behind the camera, asking questions about my background and finding connections to each other. I’m sure we could have found a lot more to talk about yet!

Rachel and Allison, you made it easy for me to capture the love you have for each other. I wanted to capture genuine moments from an outsider’s perspective, and you gave me just that! I hope you will encounter many new great adventures in your new home.

I have been working on this fall photo session for a while, and I’m really excited to finally share it! My friend Melinda and I went to the Kilcona Off-Leash Dog Park this past November to catch the last fall vibes. We couldn’t have hoped for better weather! Melinda is a friend that I know from Mexico (ever since Kindergarten, to be exact!). She has been living in Manitoba, so it has been really nice to have the chance to reconnect. I truly enjoyed our time together, and Melinda was a breeze to photograph!

Naturally, when we spend time together, I am reminded of lots of memories that we share. We went through a mega Britney Spears phase together, dressing up and imitating her dance moves (I know, we were SUPER cool that way!) 😉

One time we were playing that we were nurses, and we were at home all alone, when someone started knocking on our front door like there was no tomorrow, followed by desperately ringing our door bell, moving on to our garage door and testing if it was open… needles to say we were scared to death. To this day I’m not sure who it was, although I have a good idea.

Another time we had gone along with my mom in our long Mercury Grand Marquis car (which I always made fun of because it was as long as the Titanic). It had rained and suddenly our car was hydroplaning. Of course this was not a great situation to be in and thankfully my mom saved the whole situation by getting the car under control once again. What did Melinda and I do next? Yes, we just started laughing and laughing… You guessed it, my mom was surely not impressed with us.

I won’t give away the rest of our stories. But before I show you the pictures of my gorgeous friend Melinda, I have to mention how contagious her laughter is. I’m sure you could hear it from quite far away. Thank you for letting me take your pictures Melis!

Let the Southeast Asia Travel Diaries begin! You guys, I’m so excited that I finally get to tell you about our trip! Now, for those of you who might be new to this blog, I should begin by mentioning that in the summer of 2016, my husband and I traveled to Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam for a whole month. I’ve been patiently waiting to share these pictures with you!

By now, you have probably gotten quite used to Travel Tuesdays. Instead of Travel Tuesdays, I’m going to be starting a new series called Southeast Asia Travel Diaries. I will be writing these posts in a diary sort of style, recounting what we did for a whole month. I will also try to be informative for those of you who are hoping to travel to these locations in the future. I won’t be recounting exactly day by day all the time. The reason being, sometimes we came back to the same place later on. For example, because the flights made more sense, and were cheaper, we continued flying back into Bangkok. This means we were in Bangkok a few times. I will try to just write about everything we did in Bangkok once, regardless of when it happened during our trip. You get the point!

You Arrive in Bangkok, Thailand. Now what?

On July 13th, 2016 Kevin and I embarked on our biggest and craziest adventure yet. After being dropped off at the airport by my mother-in-law and saying goodbye to our dog Luna, our flights took us from Winnipeg, to Vancouver, to Shanghai, China, to Bangkok, Thailand. 33 hours (due to some delays) and swollen feet later, we finally arrived at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Aiport. By this time it was already 3:00 am Bangkok time. Kevin had booked our first night at Plai Garden Hotel, and after calling them from the airport, they picked us up with their hotel shuttle van (included). I would highly recommend booking at least the first night in advance and making sure that the hotel has a shuttle system included. You will be completely exhausted when you arrive, and you don’t want to deal with having to find a hotel.

When we arrived at the hotel, I was so hungry that I insisted we get some snacks from a 7 eleven that we had seen earlier. Yes, there are 7 elevens everywhere in Thailand! We left our room (there were so many cute geckos in the hotel’s hallway!) and went for a short and warm stroll to the 7 eleven. It felt unsettling to walk in the dark in a completely new neighborhood that we didn’t know at all. I’m sure it was completely safe, but it’s always nicer to arrive somewhere new when it’s still light out. But, we got some snacks, and that’s all that matters!

Transportation

After sleeping in a comfortable bed… let me just pause here for a second. It’s worth mentioning that it was a comfortable bed, because a lot of the beds on our trip were really hard. Mind you, we didn’t stay at expensive places. Neither would I change the experience if we were to go back. It’s just a heads up, I suppose.

Right. After sleeping in a comfortable bed and enjoying a delicious stir-fry for breakfast, we took the shuttle back to the airport. From the airport, we took the Airport Rail Link to Bangkok’s city center Phaya Thai. By now, I was so hot that I couldn’t resist getting a cold strawberry green tea before taking a Tuk-Tuk (I will explain what a Tuk-Tuk is later on) to Khao San Road.

How to Plan Your Time

When we arrived at Khao San Road, people were helpful from every angle. We ended up letting another Tuk Tuk take us to a tourist center. I would recommend this. Kevin planned most of our trip before leaving, so we already had a good idea of the things that we wanted to see and do. At the tourist center a man helped us plan our next few days, after telling him what we were interested in seeing. They had different tour packages. Although we aren’t too big into tours and prefer doing most things on our own, we found that some places were just easier to access if you joined a tour. I’m not saying that there is no way around this, but it would also mean that you have to spent more time planning and trying to find places on your own. I enjoyed doing most things on our own, and then meeting some new people along the way on tours.

11 Things to See and Do in Bangkok, Thailand

1. Get a Ride in a Tuk-Tuk

This is an absolute must! A Tuk-Tuk is a three-wheeled motored taxi with room for two or more people (depending on the size of the Tuk-Tuk). Not only will you love feeling a bit of a breeze, but it is also quite the adventure getting a ride in one of these. The level of craziness and adventure all depends on the driver. It’s pretty thrilling! The driving in Thailand is completely different from the driving in Canada. Vehicles, scooters, and Tuk-Tuks are all trying to squeeze their way to the front of the line. Naturally, the scooters are the smallest, so they all gather at the front of the line. You will see a whole family squeezed onto a scooter, sometimes even a dog, and everyone seems completely comfortable. The next scooter will be mounted as high as possible with supplies. Everyone is honking letting you know that they are passing you, or that you are in the way. It’s quite the frenzy! I just love seeing how things are done differently in different parts of the world!

The famous colourful Tuk-Tuk

When taking a Tuk-Tuk, you want to make sure that your luggage is on the floor, or that you are holding on to your bags. You don’t want to hold them facing towards the outside, as other scooters might drive by, grab your bags, and take off. Again, this never happened to us, but there were always signs in the Tuk-Tuks warning us. Some Tuk-Tuks have a protective net, preventing people to have quick access. Here are some other great tips for taking a Tuk-Tuk. But otherwise, seriously, just enjoy the ride! Worry less! It’s a blast!

2. Democracy Monument

After getting settled in at the guest house that we were staying at, we went exploring by foot. The sun was hanging fairly low in the sky already, but we wanted to get some sight seeing done. I remember how swollen my feet were from the long flight. I didn’t wear compression socks, and that is something I’d tell my future self (and anyone planning a long flight) to do differently. Anyhow…

The first place we walked to was the Democracy Monument. According to Lonely Planet, “The Democracy Monument is the focal point of the grand, European-style boulevard that is Th Ratchadamnoen Klang. As the name suggests, it was erected to commemorate Thailand’s momentous transformation from absolute to constitutional monarchy. It was designed by Thai architect Mew Aphaiwong and the relief sculptures were created by Italian Corrado Feroci.”

3. Wat Suthat

Our next stop was the Wat Suthat. The word “Wat” means temple. I remember how the temples would often glisten in the dark if light was shining on them. They were covered in mirror-like mosaics. It was so beautiful and the details were incredible!

The Wat Suthat “is one of the oldest and most impressive temples in Bangkok. It features an elegant chapel with sweeping roof, magnificent wall murals and exquisite hand-carved teakwood door panels. The temple’s construction was commissioned by King Rama I (1782-1809), to shelter the 13th Century bronze Buddha image transported by boat from Sukhotai, but it was finally completed during King Rama III’s reign (1824-51).”

4. The Giant Swing at Wat Suthat

The Giant Swing is located next to the Wat Suthat, and stands at 21.15 meters tall. “In the past, during the Brahmin ‘thanksgiving’ ceremony celebrated every year after the main rice harvest in mid-December, young men would ride the swing high in the air, suspended 24 meters from the ground when in full swing, and try to grab a bag of silver coins with their teeth. Some fairly severe injuries and a few deaths led to the dangerous swing ceremony’s discontinuation in 1932.”

5. Take a Stroll Down Khao San Road at Night

Khao San Road comes to life at night. Your senses will surely be awakened. Colliding smells of delicious food, incense, sewage, and perfumes, along with loud music, shops, bright lit up signs, loud crowds, and massage places everywhere! Need I say more? You wouldn’t believe how different it looks from the day-time Khao San Road. When our tour van stopped in this same street the very next day, I remember arguing with Kevin about it being a different street. I could hardly believe that it could be the same street. All the kiosks had closed down, all the doors were shut, and it was dead silent.

Khao San Road is the perfect place to do some shopping. We bought some temple pants, and I bought a watch. We also made sure to try some of the fresh fruit. If you don’t buy anything here, that’s totally fine. You will find that you will see countless shops on this trip, and all of them sell basically the same things! If you find something that you adore, however, you might not want to pass the opportunity.

6. Wat Ratchabophit

“The [Ratchabophit] temple was commissioned by Rama V late in the nineteenth century. The temple’s unique design has the large wiharn (prayer hall) and ubosot (ordination hall) linked by a circular courtyard. In most Thai temples, the ubosot sits on its own in a square courtyard. In the center of Wat Ratchabophit’s courtyard, between the ubosot and the wiharn, is a large gilded chedi (pagoda) containing a seated Lopburi-style Buddha image. The outside of the buildings are decorated with hand-painted glazed tiles similar to Thai benjarong enamels. The door and window frames are elaborately decorated with gold and mirrors” (quoted from this website).

All the details in this temple were simply astonishing. I can’t even begin to imagine how many hours of work went into it! I mean think about it! Hand painted tiles!?

7. Wat Ratchapradit

“Located to the north of Suan Saranrom and built by King Rama IV in 1864, Wat Ratchapradit is a relatively small Buddhist temple covering a total area of approximately 2 rai. Also known as Wat Rajapradit, this temple was built for the monks of the Dhammayutika sect.”

The inside of this temple had dark and rich colours, with detailed paintings all over its walls. The chandeliers complimented the dark red ceiling with its golden rosettes.

8. Wat Pho

From far away this temple looks amazing! It looks textured, colourful, and has really fun shapes. You only come to fully appreciate it though, when you see it from close up. The picture below shows how detailed the tile work really is! It is covered in beautiful flowers that actually pop out!

You can probably spend a few hours at this location! It is huge and there are so many things to see! Here is a very informative website about the Wat Pho, if you are interested in more details.

The mirror tile mosaics were incredibly shimmery in the bright sunlight. Some parts had been redone recently, and they were particularly shiny!

These floral garlands were everywhere! Some were very simple, and others had amazing designs, but they were all made out of real flowers. In Thailand they are known as Phuang Malai. “They are placed as offerings on shrines, temples or are given to special guests as a sign of respect.”

The Reclining or Sleeping Buddha was definitely a highlight! The image of this Buddha is actually named Phra Phuttha Saiyat, and was built in 1832 during the reign of King Rama III. It is 46 meters long and 15 meters high. In this image the Buddha is passing into final Nirvana after death.

In many temples you will be asked to take your shoes off, wear long pants, and have your shoulders covered before entering. I would suggest either bringing a shawl from home, or simply buying one once you arrive in Thailand. Some temples, like this one, actually provided coverings (that is not the case in most temples though). I also bought some temple pants along the way.

The back of the Reclining Buddha’s headThe Reclining Buddha’s feet

I wish you could see the Reclining Buddha’s feet from up close! They shimmer like the colours of the rainbow. This is because they are inlaid with mother of pearl. They did this in exactly 108 segments, showing the 108 characteristics of the Buddha.

Phuang Malai

9. Wat Arun

“The Wat Arun or the Temple of Dawn, is named after Aruna, the Indian God of Dawn. Despite the name, the most spectacular view of the glittering monument can be seen from the east side of the river at sunset, when the spires of Wat Arun make an impressive silhouette against the skyline. This Wat or Buddhist temple is an architectural representation of Mount Meru, the center of the world in Buddhist cosmology. In the mythology of Tibetan Buddhism, Mount Meru is a place that simultaneously represents the center of the universe and the single-pointedness of mind sought by adepts. Thousands of miles in height, Meru is located somewhere beyond the physical plane of reality, in a realm of perfection and transcendence. The four-corner prang of Wat Arun, which house images of the guardian gods of the four directions, reinforces this mystical symbolism.”

Unfortunately the main pagoda at the Wat Arun was under construction when we visited. I was quite disappointed about this, simply because it is beautiful and enormous and we were looking forward to seeing it! However, I understand that these old structures need to be maintained for them to be enjoyed by future generations. Here and here are some better pictures that I found on google images.

Even though the main temple didn’t look the way we had imagined, we still really enjoyed seeing the rest of the charming yard. I should also mention that we had to cross the Chao Phraya River by boat to get here.

This cat looks healthy and well fed. The reality though is that there were SO many cats and kittens not far away from this specific cat that were incredibly thin and hungry. A lady was feeding the tiniest one, and all the other cats were gathering around. I was completely moved to tears, because I love animals so much. It killed me to know that I couldn’t help or save any of them. There was one little kitten in particular that was so thin, and yet it was playful, just the way kittens always are!

10. The Pink Elephants Statue

These pink cheerful elephants are located right next to the Grand Palace. Make sure you snap a few pictures of them!

11. The Grand Palace and the Wat Phra Kaew (Temple of the Emerald Buddha)

“For just about 150 years, Bangkok’s Grand Palace was not only the home of the King and his court, but also the entire administrative seat of government. Within the crenelated walls were the country’s war ministry, state departments, and even the mint. Thai Kings stopped living in the palace full time around the turn of the twentieth century, but the complex remains the seat of power and spiritual heart of the Thai kingdom.”

The first time that we wanted to visit the Grand Palace we weren’t allowed in as tourists, because it was the King’s birthday. We returned later on in our trip, because we really wanted to see it. This time we had luck.

There is a lot to see here, so make sure you set aside a good amount of time. Here is a website that shows the layout of the palace complex, for those of you interested.

Temple of the Emerald Buddha

Temple of the Emerald Buddha

“Wat Phra Kaew or the Temple of the Emerald Buddha is regarded as the most important Buddhist temple in Thailand. Located in the historic centre of Bangkok, within the grounds of the Grand Palace, it enshrines Phra Kaew Morakot (the Emerald Buddha), the highly revered Buddha image meticulously carved from a single block of jade. The Emerald Buddha (Phra Putta Maha Mani Ratana Patimakorn) is a Buddha image in the meditating position in the style of the Lanna school of the north, dating from the 15th century AD. Raised high on a series of platforms, no one is allowed near the Emerald Buddha except HM the King. A seasonal cloak, changed three times a year to correspond to the summer, winter, and rainy season covers the statue. A very important ritual, the changing of the robes is performed only by the King to bring good fortune to the country during each season. The temple of Emerald Buddha is beautifully decorated and has a great sense of peace about it.”

Here is a picture and some more information on the Emerald Buddha found in the temple.

Funny story, and something to be aware of. Don’t buy anything from the people right outside of the Grand Palace, if they claim you have to have your shoulders covered and won’t be allowed in otherwise. It is absolutely true that you have to be dressed very modestly if you want to enter. However, make sure you check at the entrance first, as to whether or not they provide coverings. On this given day I hadn’t brought anything along to cover my shoulders, and so I fell for it, and ended up buying a shirt I probably wouldn’t have bought otherwise. As we were approaching the Grand Palace entrance point, there were loud speakers warning tourists of exactly what had just happened to me, but at that point it was just a little too late. Oh well. I do actually still have this shirt. 😉

A most beautiful and detailed mural in the Grand Palace

The Grand Palace

WATCH OUT FOR SCAM TOURS!!

As frustrating as this incident was, it kinda makes for a funny story to tell. Our plan was to visit the Grand Palace. We were told that only Thai people were allowed in on that specific day, since it was the King’s birthday. We were disappointed, but eventually decided we were going to come back at a later time during our trip (which as you see above, we ended up doing).

We met a man on the street, standing behind a booth, who told us he had another cheap Tuk-Tuk tour that he could offer us, since the Grand Palace was closed to tourists. Kevin didn’t feel convinced about it, but I suppose I trusted him. Before we knew it we had hopped into a colorful Tuk-Tuk and were taken to some location that was supposed to be special. It really didn’t look very impressive. We even got to pose with a Buddha backdrop, ha ha.

Next, they took us to a cashmere store. We walked in, and knew we didn’t want a suit or shirt made for Kevin, so we left soon after. When we walked back to our driver, he was really frustrated with us. He told us we had to shop for at least 15-20 minutes, or else he wasn’t going to receive his gas coupon. He then said we’d give it another try. He dropped us off at another cashmere store, reminding us to shop longer. Kevin and I walk in, sat down, and since we had no other choice, we pretended to be interested in the fabrics. We tried to stall time by taking a while to pick the right color, etc. When we finally thought that we had “shopped” long enough, we left. To this day we’re not sure if he got his gas coupon, but at that point all we wanted was to be dropped off back at the Grand Palace, which he then agreed to do. So yeah, beware of scam tours. But if worst comes to worst, you have a funny story to tell.

What to Eat

Since it was SO hot and humid, I found that most of the time I was more thirsty than hungry. Fruity, cold, and sweet things were more appealing than hot and savory dishes for the same reason. Obviously you’ll need something more filling at times, and the savory food is so delicious that you wouldn’t want to miss out on it!

There is plenty of food to pick from on Khao San Road. Everything from fruit, snacks, and savory dishes, to fried scorpions and tarantulas! I never pulled myself together enough to try the latter. I wish I had though! I hate feeling defeated after really wishing I would have the nerve to do something out of the ordinary, and ultimately deciding that I simply can’t. So if any of you ever go to Khao San Road, perhaps you can eat a scorpion or two for me! 😉

Ultimately, we decided to find a small sit-down restaurant. Unfortunately, I forget the name of it. Something that I loved about the restaurants on our trip in general, was that they always had a menu at the entrance. This way you were able to see what kind of food different restaurants offered before committing to one.

Kevin’s dinner came in a huge pineapple!

We were surrounded by the chatter and laughter of lots of people, waving flags, interesting trees, neon lights, loud music, and delicious food!

Since I don’t remember the name of the restaurant, try finding the deep-fried chicken with orange sauce on one of the menus. It was delicious!

You don’t really have to worry about finding a place to eat in Bangkok. There is food everywhere! Some of the food is quite spicy, but it’s so delicious! I realized that overall Kevin was more willing to explore different foods than I was. Once I knew that I loved a certain thing, I wanted to eat it again, and again. Some of the Thai foods that we tried and enjoyed in Bangkok were mango and sticky rice, passion fruit juice, fresh watermelon, mango, and pineapple, Lod Chong (green noodle dessert drink), chicken, spring rolls, etc.

Where to Stay

If you are arriving at the Suvarnabhumi Aiport late at night, I would recommend staying at a hotel close to the airport. As mentioned above, we stayed at Plai Garden Guesthouse. I was very happy with the stay. It was very simple, but the bed was soft, and the room had air conditioning. They picked us up and brought us back to the airport in their shuttle (included). They also had a food menu (not included), which we took advantage of before going on the next day.

In Bangkok we stayed at Boworn BB Guest House. This hotel is really close to many sight-seeing places. Quoting my journal, “the bed was hard like a brick!”, but I would still recommend this place. I think it’s part of the experience, and it was in a good location, plus it was cheap!

If you are sightseeing in the northern part of Bangkok city or have a layover at Don Mueang International Airport, Phoom Houseis in close proximity. It is about a 10 minute walk away and is an affordable alternative to the hotel that is attached to the airport. We stayed here a couple of times when we would fly to different locations. Again, it was a simple place, but I’m pretty sure the beds were soft. However, make sure to ask for a room far away from the little bar that is close to it. It will be loud there till late. Also, make sure your bathroom has a sink. Some of the rooms at this hotel didn’t have a sink, only a shower and a toilet. Oh, and there was no food included.

What appears to be someone’s home right next to the Boworn BB Guest House.

A building next to the Boworn BB Guest House. All the buildings were in close proximity to each other.

What to Drink

You are going to want to drink a lot of bottled water (I was soaked in sweat almost every day, and that is coming from someone who doesn’t sweat a lot). The unfortunate thing about this is that it creates a lot of plastic waste. I should also mention that most hotel rooms on our trip included clean bottled water. We had read somewhere online that we should be careful and make sure that the water bottles that we received/bought were sealed, since sometimes tap water is bottled and sold. This could result in getting sick, since our systems are not used to the tap water. Not once did we have this issue, however. We often bought water at 7 elevens or other grocery type stores.

Also make sure that you take advantage of the delicious freshfruit and fruit juice that is sold everywhere on the streets. I especially LOVED the passion fruit juice!

I’m so excited to share a salad recipe with you today! This Deer + Almond Copycat ‘Beets & Oranges’ Salad is so easy to make and it’s packed with nutrition. It is vegetarian friendly and is free of white refined sugar. The feta cheese can easily be omitted for a vegan option (in which case I would suggest sprinkling a little bit of sea salt on the salad).

I’ve been trying to eat more fruits and vegetables, and just fuel my body with healthier food in general. It seems a lot easier to eat salads if I change up the recipes frequently. For those of you who love salads, I hope you give this one a try and enjoy it as much as Kevin and I do.

Kevin and I went to a local restaurant called Deer + Almond about a month ago. His sister had given us a gift card from this place for Christmas, along with other fun date-night snack foods and movies. It’s probably pointless to mention how much I loved this gift. Seriously though! Movies + food = heaven for Erika.

I really enjoyed the food that we had at Deer + Almond. It is a slow food restaurant that serves tapas-style dishes. The food is meant to be shared with friends and family like you would at home. I would recommend all Winnipegers to check it out, if you haven’t already! I suppose, the rest of you will simply have to come up/down for a visit!

The truth is, I have never been the biggest fan of beets. However, I’m also kinda stubborn, and feel the need to like, or at least try all foods. For instance, when Kevin and I were in Thailand last summer, they were selling fried scorpions and tarantulas on the street. I simply couldn’t bring myself to try them. Now, most people probably would have been totally okay with not trying them. I, however, still can’t get over the fact that I didn’t try them. It feels like something I should have done at least once in my life!

Back to beets though. I have often “made” myself eat some (they are easier to eat than tarantulas after all!), with the hopes that one day I’ll like them. I have realized that I enjoy them more when they are steamed than if they are pickled. When we ordered the ‘Beets & Oranges’ salad at Deer + Almond, I really enjoyed it! Although, proportionally they added too many beets for my liking. If you love beets, however, you would probably disagree with me, and would have loved the salad just the way it was served. That’s the beauty of making this salad yourself! You get to choose how many beets you want to add! See, we all win!

Who knows how close my version of the ‘Beets & Oranges’ salad is to the original recipe, but it doesn’t really matter because it’s healthy and SO delicious! The ingredients that go into this salad are: green leaf lettuce, gala apples, oranges, steamed beets, crumbled feta cheese, chopped walnuts, sesame tahini, orange juice, lemon juice, and honey. That’s all! Scroll further down to see the recipe.

A few notes:

This recipe makes two large lunch salads, or serves about four people as a side salad. If you are planning to take it to work, just layer the salad in a seal-able container in the following order: beets, lettuce, apples, oranges, feta, and walnuts. Store the dressing in a separate container. When you are ready to eat, simply drizzle the dressing over the salad, close the lid, give it a good shake, and eat it straight out of the container, or empty it out onto a plate.

To steam the beets, I used a double boiler steamer. Just add some water to the bottom pot, and place the beets in the steamer pot. Cover with a lid and steam for about 30 minutes or until the beets are tender when pierced with a fork. I didn’t peel the beets until after steaming them. Instead, I just ran them under cold water and used my fingers to rub the peel off. If the peel doesn’t want to come off, try using a sharp knife.

Substitutes:

You could probably replace the feta cheese with “queso fresco”. Another alternative would be cottage cheese. Just make sure to rinse it off first, so that it’s not too wet, and add some sea salt, as feta cheese is a lot saltier than cottage cheese. Now, for those of you who do not have access to sesame tahini, you can either make it (video below) or try replacing it with a smooth peanuts-only peanut butter. You will still get that nutty flavor.

Thank you for reading along. I really hope you enjoy eating this Deer + Almond Copycat ‘Beets & Oranges’ Salad as much as I enjoyed making, photographing, and eating it! Wishing you all a fabulous week!